Day 12 – Bat & Ball High-Performance Centre
At dawn, a new banner flashes across the Iron Dome:
⚠️ ELIMINATION ROUND BEGINS: Bottom 14 Will Be Cut
Gasps. No more evaluation. No more drills. This is do or die.
Inside the dorms, silence reigns. Players eat less. Talk less.
Every eye is on the leaderboard. Aryan, Yuvraj, Omkar are safe — but the rest? It's a minefield.
BCCI Elimination Protocol
Each player will play 3 matches over 3 days.
Points awarded for:
✔️ Performance
✔️ Adaptability
✔️ Leadership
✔️ Recovery under pressure
Lowest total = elimination.
Today: Match 1 of 3.
Match 1: Aryan Raj vs. Yuvraj Rathore – Rivalry Reloaded
It's the clash everyone waited for. Aryan's stoicism vs. Yuvraj's explosion.
Toss: Aryan wins, chooses to bat.
But something's wrong.
Aryan walks slowly. His eyes aren't sharp. His bat feels heavy.
Flashback: His father's words echo again —
"Cricket won't feed your stomach. Go be a man."
First Ball: Rajveer bowls. Aryan watches. Dot.
Second ball: Outside off. Aryan slashes — edged. Caught at slip!
Golden duck.
The crowd is stunned.
Yuvraj stares silently from short mid-wicket.
Commentary Box:
"That's the first time Aryan's fallen this early… what's going on in his head?"
Back in the dugout, Aryan sits like stone. Sweat on his face. But not from heat.
"Is this doubt? Why now?"
Meanwhile on the Field:
Yuvraj goes beast mode — 68 off 35 balls.
Sai Menon plays calm anchor – 42(39).
Zayaan (in Yuvraj's team) bowls sharp bouncers – gets 2 wickets.
Aryan's team collapses. His squad loses by 47 runs.
Post-Match Elimination Rankings (After Day 1):
1. Yuvraj Rathore – 94
2. Sai Menon – 89
3. Zayaan Sheikh – 85
4. Rajveer Goyal – 82
5. Omkar Shinde – 80
...
13. Aryan Raj – 24
He's spiraling.
Night – Gymnasium Basement
Aryan punches a hanging bag. No gloves.
Knuckles bleeding. Sweat dripping.
Tears nearly falling.
"This can't be it. I didn't come this far to break now."
Suddenly – a soft voice behind.
Omkar: "Fall. But get back up. That's the rhythm of cricket."
Aryan doesn't respond. He just nods.
The fire is dim… but not out.
Next Up:
Chapter 14 – "Echoes of Pressure: The Comeback of a Silent Titan"